Registered voters up in Illinois, but will they vote in the primary?

The number of registered Illinois voters is at a five-decade high for a primary election, but voting officials remain skeptical about how many of those voters will follow through.

Brian Feldt

The number of registered Illinois voters is at a five-decade high for a primary election, but voting officials remain skeptical about how many of those voters will follow through.

There's a hot race for governor in both parties, but not a lot else to draw voters out in waves. No presidential race on the ballot, an unusually early primary and the weather could all keep the numbers down.

Dan White, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, said he expects about 28 percent of registered voters to turn out for Tuesday's primary election. Voter registration is up by 300,000 voters from the last election, with more than 7.5 million registered voters heading into next week.

"We are always hoping for a high turnout, but historically the turnout in the last several gubernatorial races has averaged about 28 percent, and I think that is what we are looking at for next week," he said.

Some local authorities are predicting this year's primary could challenge as one of the worst turnouts in state history. Turnout for the 2006 primary was a record low statewide, with just 25 percent of registered voters casting ballots.

Stacey Kern, director of elections in the Sangamon County election office, said she expects turn out to barely reach the 20 percent mark there. Peoria and Rockford authorities expect much of the same, with turnout expected between 20 and 25 percent.

"Part of it is the fact that this is a primary and people don't like to vote in primaries because you have to choose a party affiliation," Kern said. "It's also been moved up. It used to be the third Tuesday in March and now it's the first Tuesday in February."

Meanwhile, early voting and mail-in numbers paint an equally bleak picture so far.

According to the Illinois Voter Registration System database, only about 40,000 people had voted in-person at an early voting center as of Jan. 19, the most recent date for information available.

Thomas Bride, executive director of elections in Peoria, said Peoria would be lucky to return 15 percent of mail-in voting ballots. Bride said the low turnout could be tied to a lackluster voting season.

"Sometimes there are local issues that drive local numbers up, like a school board vote," he said. "I don't see anything locally that really drives beyond statewide levels."

For more information on elections, visit the board's Web site at www.elections.il.gov.

Brian Feldt can be reached at brian.feldt@sj-r.com.

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